The Girl In The Mirror
by BubblesBlossomButtercup
Summary: The mass of red hair was unmistakeable but the uncharacteristic grin that glimmered from beneath contorted the face and made it almost inhuman. A knife glinted provocatively in the brandished hand, beckoning the victim in wards. So in she went...
1. Chapter 1

**The Girl in The Mirror**

"_The mass of red hair was unmistakeable but the uncharacteristic grin that glimmered from beneath contorted the face and made it almost inhuman. A knife glinted provocatively in the brandished hand, beckoning the victim in wards. So in she went."_

"Doctor, I keep having a dream," Amelia Pond mused, casually perched upon the metal railings surrounding the Doctor's immense, gadget-packed control centre with all its colourful beeping and whirring's. The Doctor whisked around in his usual braze manner, flicking switches on and off here and there. She was reluctant to think that he was even listening but in a way preferred the chance that he might not be. She just had to talk about it.

"Do you? Recurrent dreams are wonderful, potentially dangerous things but I'm sure yours is harmless,"

Amy rearranged her position slightly closer to the Doctor as she realised that his attention was actually partially upon her.

"I thought it was, but it's not exactly recurrent,"

"What do you mean by you keep having the dream then?" The Doctor paused to press a luminous button which Amy swore wasn't there moments ago which began a tinny screech amongst the original Tardis noise.

"Well…it's not always same place. Like, the dream would seem normal. I'd be in here or at home or in the supermarket …but I'd. Actually never mind," Amy bit her lip anxiously in regret at even bringing the topic up.

As the tinny sound diminished the Doctor paused in his frenzy, and actually faced the leggy red head. "No, do go on, I'm listening,"

She let out a sigh before commencing, "You'll think I'm silly, but okay," her wide eyes grew serious, "I used to have a friend called Emma when I was younger. She lived a few houses down from me and I used to play round her house almost every day after school. She was a laugh, a bit strange, but a good strange, I think. The thing is, on the night of her tenth birthday she just disappeared and no one ever found her again. They thought she must have been abducted, and all us kids had to stay inside for such a long time in case there was a child kidnapper on the loose. Obviously I still miss her and things, but just since I've travelling with you I keep having dreams that begin normally but I always see her in the distance. Little frame, bright blonde hair, the green trainers she always used to wear. It's definitely her. I try to catch up with her but she just looks me with really sad eyes…and disappears,"

The Doctor had suddenly got really close as Amy rambled out her rapid explanation. His frantic yet oddly wise eyes searched her face for a moment as she waited for his response, certain that he'll reassure her that a dreams just a dream despite the havoc they endured a while ago with the 'dream master' and the games which occurred then.

"You know it could just be that being away from home has caused you to remember things that you miss there, even people who disappeared long ago," His eyes left her face and he returned to the control system, "However…"

He pulled down on the biggest switched of all, starting the churning and rocking of the Tardis as it sets off to land somewhere, Amy knew the feeling all too well already.

"However what?" Amy clung to the rails expectantly.

"However, I say we investigate!"

A bittersweet rush overcame Amy as she stepped out into the familiar back garden she used to run around when she was young. She felt oddly isolated from it now, like this was the fake and the life was the doctor was the reality, almost as though she had imagine she had lived there at all. The garden was still radiant in its homely 'secret-garden-esque' way but before Amy could take being home in , the Doctor was already disappearing out the back gate. She jogged to catch up as he strode along, hands in his jacket, a contemplative thought shadowing his expression.

"So, I've come back to the time when you are approximately nine and a half, thought it could be a good place to start. Of course it could just be a case child abduction, but with our recent experience concerning you and dreams, I thought I wouldn't take any chances,"

"Yes, but what if I see my nine year old self, wouldn't that cause problems with the butterfly effect or whatever it is?"

"I've put a cloaking mechanism upon us, we're invisible basically. At the moment this is nothing more than a recollection of your memory,"

"Ah okay," Amy nodded in mock understanding.

"And so, you said that you used to play around her house after school almost every day, well let's hope this one of the days," He lifted up his arm to inspect his wristwatch, "It is 3.30pm in England at the moment, that would be after school, I assume?"

"Right!"

"So, where does Emma live?"

"Um, just down this street here, I'll show you… this is going to be so weird…you know, seeing her again,"

The Doctor glanced sideways at Amy, noticing in her eyes a deep sense of loss. – a look which appeared to shadow her ever since she lost Rory's memory in the crack. He felt a wave of sadness himself, here was a girl that had lost so many in her short life. He understood completely.


	2. Chapter 2

It was bizarre to walk up the garden path towards Emma's cottage. Amy had not realised it until now but she must have subconsciously avoided it on her way home from school every day. Something inside her had made her take the long route home, and she had never really known why until now.

There was something still oddly precarious about the way the Doctor casually sauntered up to the front door, took his sonic screwdriver out, and opened it, as though the cottage was his own. Amy followed close behind him, a bit anxious at delving into a past she had for so many years evaded.

The shrill shriek of small girl's laughter echoed from upstairs as Emma's mum jostled about the kitchen preparing dinner. The Doctor bounded up the stairs. Amy felt a strange shiver run down her back as Emma's mum homely face appeared to look right through her.

The strange feeling continued as they entered the pink and purple room arranged with fluffy toys and a huge mirror wardrobe covering the length of one side of the room. Two young girls sat on the floor. Amy noticed that they must have stolen Emma's brothers' action men again and were arranging an action man and Barbie wedding across the bedroom floor.

If Amy had thought it was weird before it was nothing compared to looking at her nine year old self. Her red hair was tousled in a nest surrounding her pale childishly rounded face, her large almond eyes scrunched up as she put tremendous effort into the acting of one doll being the priest at the ceremony. Little Emma sat beside her, the same girl that had featured so heavily in her dreams recently, she had to pinch herself to check again that this was not some weird dream. Although, really, it was always like that with the Doctor.

The Doctor understood, let Amy watch the two children playing for a while, give her a little time to take it all in. Time was something they normally never had. The wedding had commenced and Barbie had ended up smacking Action men round the face for cheating on her with a Cindy doll, sending him flying and bumping against the giant mirror wardrobe.

"Emma! Amy!" Emma's mum voice echoed from downstairs making grown-up Amy jump, "Tidy up! Amy's got to go home soon!"

"But muuum, you'll have to wait until the wedding is completely over!"

"I don't care, you girls hurry up and get down here!"

There was a flurry of movement as the girls began pilling the Barbies into a box. The action man slumped up against the mirror wardrobe remained untouched.

"Emma, you forgot one," younger Amy pointed towards it.

"Yeah, I think I'll just leave it." Emma looked frightened for some reason, she was shaking , not looking towards what Amy was pointing at.

Younger Amy's face scrunched up, confused, at her friend's odd behaviour, "What's wrong?"

Emma snapped out of her gaze, looked up at younger Amy cautiously.

There was an odd silence which flooded the room.

Emma's face looked quite distraught, "If I tell you something, promise not to laugh, and not to tell anyone,"


	3. Chapter 3

As Emma spoke those words Amy felt a coarse shiver of familiarity and recognition surrounding them. This conversation struck a chord. It was significant to her for some reason.

"At night… I kept hearing voices, actually one voice. And to begin with, I thought it was just weird dreams I was having." Emma still deliberately avoided the mirror as she spoke, "It sounded like it was coming from the mirror,"

Young Amy's face lit up with excitement despite her friend's apparent distress as she quickly cut in, "I hear voices too! In my room, there's a crack in my wall and…"

"Do you want to hear this story or not… whilst I have the guts to tell you it," Emma cut in, rather sharply for her normal soft mannerisms.

Young Amy abruptly shut up not attempting to hide herself being disgruntled in the slightest.

"Okay, so I thought they were dreams, but still when I heard them for many nights in a row, I decided to get up and have a look," Emma's voice melted down into a whisper as she continued, "I went over to the mirror and instead of my reflection there was a girl looking out at me,"

Young Amy's face was concentrated, a mixture of curiosity and mild fear as the eerie silence again surrounded the girls.

"She kind of… looked like you. Same hair, similar face… but it wasn't you. I know it's not you. There's something that makes her completely different,"

Both Amy's appeared flabbergasted at this statement, unsure how to approach it.

Emma moved briskly on, as though she felt she ought to mention that part, but felt awkward about doing so.

"I'm sure she's watching us now," Emma's eyes flickered to the side, as though she was going to check for a moment, "She was okay to begin with, still creeped me out but, she seemed harmless, a bit strange though. Then she started to ask me to come into the mirror. I didn't want too. There was something not right about it. Something I wasn't certain of, it just wasn't right,"

Emma's head jerked in the direction of the mirror, but she quickly returned to facing Amy.

"She started to…threaten me. Saying she was going to take my little brother into the mirror, if I don't come in, and that I'd never see him again. She wanted friends to play with so I had to come in. But I always saw something glinting in her hand. I swear she has a knife or something,"

Emma looked exhausted after her long narrative. She just stared at Amy, worried at her response.

"Prove it… show me her and I'll believe you,"

Emma gulped, "I don't know if I can,"

Young Amy got up, walked over to the mirror, stood openly in front of it. Only Amy was reflected back to her, and not the strange creepy Amy lookalike that Emma referred to.

Emma slowly got up too and hesitantly inched towards the mirror.

She peered in as well. There was her own reflection, and Amy standing expectantly next to her.

"It's not her, She's not there," Emma sounded relieved, but there was a bit of disappointment surrounding her voice also, that she could not prove anything to her friend.

"Well then, I think you're just making up scary stories to scare me," Young Amy giggled picking up the action man and turning around to aim and toss it into the basket.

As she turned, her reflection remained stuck in place, stared at Emma and sneered.


	4. Chapter 4

**I have decided to return to this FF after a rather long time. Massive apologies for the delay. **

**This chapter is pretty short and doesn't develop the plot too much, but I've put it in as a kind of reminder and promise that I will continue! And also a sort of interlude whilst I gather my thoughts together. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, although I wish I did. **

When the two girls had left the room the Doctor sped over to the mirror wardrobe, whipped out his screwdriver and started scanning, or shooting (Amy was never sure which) the surface of the mirror where Young Amy's reflection had previously been.

"Did I really just see that?!" Amy exclaimed, completely freaked out.

The Doctor didn't answer her, just continued muttering to himself, the beam of the sonic screwdriver reflecting right back at him through the mirror.

He slid open the mirror wardrobe, clambered inside, closed it. Amy could only hear him banging against the sides of the wardrobe, the clanging of coat hangers as he moved aside clothes, and the sound of the screwdriver.

"Doctor?!"

The door slid open. He climbed back out, banging his screwdriver against his forehead, brow furrowed, continuing to intensely mutter to himself.

Amy hated it when he got like this. Especially when it concerned her!

"Aha!" the Doctor suddenly exclaimed, making Amy jump. He started to run out the room and down the stairs. Confused, Amy stumbled after him.

Young Amy and Emma were sat at the dinner table, noisily chattering as they ate up their bangers and mash.

The Doctor lunged up to Young Amy and stared intently into her face. Young Amy was completely unaware, continued to shovel mash potato onto her fork. Amy half expected the Doctor to start using the sonic screwdriver upon her younger self.

He didn't. He just stared, unblinkingly for a few moments, before swiftly moving away and instead standing before Emma and staring intently at her oblivious face.

"Doctor, can you explain to me what's going on?" Amy persisted.

"Come with me, Amy," Amy wasn't sure if he was talking to her or the younger version of herself to begin with, until he snapped his gaze away from Emma and instead focused upon her, "Back to the Tardis."

**Please let me know what you think for the four chapters so far. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognise. **

Chapter Five.

Once inside the TARDIS the Doctor swung around to face Amy.

"Now are you actually going to let me know what the hell is going on!" Amy leant against one of the TARDIS columns in an attempt to look casual and unafraid when in fact inside she was still feeling rather giddy about the sneering version of her they had just witnessed in the mirror.

"Can you remember the date that Emma went missing, by any chance?"

_Always with the questions and never with the answers, that's what it always seems like with the Doctor. _

"Um… no, I don't think so…I am not the best person with remembering dates, really," Amy searched her memory in vain.

The Doctor's expectant face turned into a disappointed frown. Amy hated disappointing him.

"Wait, hang on, Doctor!" Amy couldn't help but grin as she had a sudden thought, "It was roughly a week or so after I had met you. I remember because I hadn't gone to see her after school since I had spent all that time waiting for you because I was upset and I didn't want to share my secret raggedy man with her if you did come back."

The Doctor began to look eagerly expectant again.

"Actually, if I remember rightly, it was a Sunday morning that I had heard the news. I had been trying to get out of going to church as usual, and I was hiding in the Village when I heard Mrs Angelo talking about how Emma went to bed as usual on Saturday night and when her mum went to wake her up in the morning, she was nowhere to be seen."

The Doctor hopped up and dashed over to the little machine where he inputs dates and such like, "We'll go to that Saturday night," he said.

**Next Chapter Coming Soon. **


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

When the Doctor and Amy vacated the TARDIS they were shocked to realise that they weren't outside Emma's house as the Doctor planned. They were in the street opposite Amy's house.

"Just a minor miscalculation!" the Doctor waved it aside.

They began to instead walk towards Emma's house when Amy noticed something and grabbed the Doctor, pulling him down to crouching position.

"What is it?"

"Shush a minute," Amy pointed. Behind the mass of trees and bushes which wildly grew around Amy's home sat a little ginger girl, perched upon a suitcase, gazing intently up at the stars, "It's me again."

"I didn't realise you waited that long, a week later!" if Amy didn't know better she would have though the Doctor was bragging.

"I did wait for a long time, but it wasn't that long. No, this is the first night. I can tell."

The Doctor frowned. They were a week behind in when he wanted to be. The TARDIS was at it again, but the Doctor was always willing to play along with his beloved.

"Ah well, like I said, just a minor miscalculation!"

"Oh. So what's the plan?"

"I say we continue to Emma's house, c'mon,"

He began to briskly march up the street.

"Eh, wrong way, stupid," Amy steered him round.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

This time they weren't invisible.

The Doctor flashed his psychic paper at Emma's mother at the door, claiming that him and Amy were there to check the boiler and heating.

"Um, okay. Bit of an odd time to be checking the boiler but come in. As long as you are quiet, my little girl is in bed."

Emma's bedroom door was slightly open, allowing the light from the hallway to send a yellowy beam into the gloomy room.

The Doctor made a motion to Amy to be quiet as he crept up to the gap and peered inside. Amy did the same.

Emma wasn't in bed.

She was standing up, close to the mirror wardrobes, looking eerily hypnotised and ghostly with her pale skin and white bedclothes. She was subtly swaying from side to side.

Amy glanced worryingly at the Doctor. His finger was still pressed to his lip as an indication for Amy to remain silent.

Emma was mumbling, "No but I really don't want to…I'm scared." Her voice was wavering and feeble, "whose that? …No…No…you're lying."

"You're lying!' Emma's voice rose, "You don't touch him, you let him. LET HIM GO….LET HIM GO!"

Emma was shaking, her fists clenched and flailing, tears streaming down her face.

The Doctor ran inside, sonic screwdriver at the ready, aimed straight at the mirror.

Amy followed but didn't confront the mirror-monster. Instead, she grabbed the hysteric girl, embracing her in her arms, comforting her by telling her 'that it's okay.' Emma allowed herself to collapse into Amy's arms, still sobbing.

"There was nothing there," she heard the Doctor say.

Amy looked up from comforting the child. He was right. Only the harmless reflections of the Doctor, Amy and Emma stared back at them.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 **

Emma seemed to have calmed down a little bit. She wasn't shaking as much and her distressed shouts and wails had reduced to a slight snuffle.

Her face was still oddly pale and her eyes wide, glistening with tears. She stared up at Amy who was still cradling her within her arms.

"Who are you?" she asked, frightened.

"Um… we're just here to sort out your heating," Amy replied, uncertainly, letting the little girl go.

The confusion didn't leave Emma's face. She continued to stare at Amy, her brow furrowed as though she was intensely thinking.

Amy found it quite unnerving. Although unlikely, she felt slightly worried that Emma would guess who she actually was. She broke eye contact and looked away.

The Doctor drew his attention away from the mirror and turned to Emma, "what did you see?"

Emma shook her head, "nothing, "she replied curtly.

"You saw something. Emma. Let me introduce myself, I am the Doctor and I can help you."

He had this uncanny way of making people instantly trust him yet Emma still seemed suspicious.

Her contemplative look was cast upon him instead.

"You won't believe me," she whispered.

"Believe me, I will."

Emma was still reluctant, "..It is a girl. I think she lives in there. She seemed nice at first, but she kept wanting me to come in…to come in the mirror and play. I didn't want to. I was scared and I didn't trust her…' Emma went quiet, thoughtful yet again, "I thought she had a knife or something, I could see it glinting. I just knew she would hurt me."

"And she was asking you to come into the mirror again tonight?" the Doctor persisted.

"Yes, but it was worse. She says she has my brother. She says she has him and I will never see him again!" tears sprang to her eyes again as she spoke.

"Are you sure she has him? Have you checked his room? He could be sleeping," Amy hated seeing her cry.

Emma shook her head.

The conversation was interrupted by Emma's mum turning the light on and entering the room, "What are you doing in here?" she asked.

"Emma had a nightmare. We heard her crying and thought something might have been wrong. She's okay now, aren't you sweetie?" Amy quickly said.

"Oh no. You've been having a lot of bad dreams lately, haven't you?" Emma's mum, sounding quite concerned.

Emma quietly nodded.

"She was worried about her brother," the Doctor interjected, "It was a bad dream about him. We were trying to reassure her that he is probably in his room sound asleep."

Emma's mum's face froze. She stared at the Doctor. Then her face seemed to flick through a mixture of emotions before she said, very carefully, "Emma doesn't have a brother."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 **

Emma was put back to bed and The Doctor and Amy were abruptly ushered out of the room.

As soon as Emma's mother shut the door, she beckoned for the both of them to follow her. She led them downstairs.

"I'm really sorry about that," she said, "I have been really worried about Emma lately."

"Why was she talking about a brother?" The Doctor asked, staring at Emma's mother rather intently.

Emma's mum paused at the bottom of the stairs. She turned to face Amy and The Doctor, her face etched with worry, "She keeps talking about this imaginary brother every so often. She actually becomes convinced that he is real when she is in these moments."

Emma's mum shook her head slowly, looking contemplative, "The thing is…" she paused, "She did have a brother once. A few years ago, but it was only for a few hours. He died when he was just a couple of hours old…I wonder…" She paused again, "Never mind. She must just be confusing her bad dreams with reality."

Amy looked sideways at the Doctor, half expecting him to jump to it and solve the mystery behind the mirror immediately. Or at least start to.

Instead he told Emma's mother that her boiler was working just fine now.

He was playing it differently this time and Amy didn't know why.

**I would greatly appreciate any comments on what you think so far. Thank you for reading **


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

The Doctor and Amy returned to the TARDIS yet again.

As soon as the door swung shut the Doctor turned to Amy, "Do you remember Emma having a brother when you were young?"

"Yes… No…I don't know," Amy attempted to gather her memories together, "Well, she always talked about one. So I never once thought he didn't exist. I just assumed he wasn't around."

"Okay, we are going to go to the day when she was taken," The Doctor had already began starting the TARDIS up.

Amy hoped they got the right date this time.

It was night-time. They were outside Emma's house.

_So far so good. _

Amy knew the Doctor meant business because they didn't knock on the door and pretend to be anyone this time. Instead he used his sonic screwdriver to break in.

The house was deadly silent, shadows reflect along the walls in the moonlight, and there seemed as though there was a slight chill in the air. It was undoubtedly eerie.

They both crept up the stairs. Amy felt like her heart was pounding in her throat. She felt ready to jump at any sound, even her own as her footsteps caused a slight creaking which seemed to echo louder than they probably were. She kept catching her breath, frightened that she was even breathing too loud. She had been in many similar situations with the Doctor, but this somehow felt worse. It was her village, her friend, her old life. It all felt too close to home. She'd much prefer it if this mystery was occurring on some distant planet.

Emma's door was again slightly ajar.

The Doctor was the first to enter, Amy close behind.

The first thing Amy noticed was that the room was incredibly chilly. This was presumably because the window was wide open, the night's air caused the curtains to rise and fall in a ghostly manner.

Next, Amy noticed that Emma's bed was empty. The bed covers were dishevelled as though someone had been sleeping in them but Emma was nowhere to be seen.

Then she noticed the glinting and sinister presence of the mirror…and the puddle of blood that lay beneath it.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11 **

"We're too late!" Amy gasped.

The Doctor did not reply. He instead sprung down to the blood and 'sonic-screwdrivered' it.

"She's been killed, hasn't she?" Amy couldn't hide the sadness in her voice, barely able to look at the puddle of the blood.

"It's not blood," the Doctor said shortly. He got up and went over to the window, looking out before shutting it, stopping the chilling draft.

"What is it then? Amy asked, her eyes determinedly following the Doctor, partly because she didn't want to miss anything and partly because part of her really didn't want to look into that mirror.

"My screwdriver can't fully detect it, but seems like some kind of fuel."

"Some kind of fuel?" Amy pondered, "From this planet?"

"No."

_Should have guessed as much. _

There was a sudden bang outside of Emma's room.

The Doctor signalled for Amy to be quiet, "Either we've woken up her mother or whatever took her is still here."

He began to creep towards the door, opening it slowly. All they could see was a flash of red hair as something darted quickly past them and down the stairs. The Doctor darted out the room and began to give chase.

Amy went to follow when she felt a sudden gust of wind.

_I swear the Doctor shut the window. _

She froze. She felt as though someone was right behind her. Then she heard a cold, hissing whisper in her ear, "_Amelia Pond._"

**Any comments or constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated, thank you. Would just like to know, generally, what you think and how it's going. **


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Amy really didn't want to turn around, but she did, slowly, terrified of what she was going to find behind her.

There was nothing.

Amy shook her head, _maybe it was the wind. _Although she had distinctly heard her name.

She was about to leave and follow the Doctor when she unmistakably saw something move in the corner of her eye. And whatever had moved was coming from the mirror.

_Please be my own reflection. _

She held her breath and walked towards it.

She walked over to the mirror but instead of seeing her own scared reflection staring back at her, there was the image of her younger self.

* * *

It was definitely her. There was no mistaking it. The same mass of red hair, same round face and chubby freckled cheeks. And although adult Amy felt absolutely terrified, younger Amy stared back at her completely calm, in fact, she even smiled.

Amy felt instantly calm. This wasn't a threat. It was her. It was familiar. She wouldn't hurt anyone. She stared at herself, as though in a trance, and herself stared back.

* * *

The Doctor had ran down the stairs in hot pursuit of the red flash. It seemed to have completely vanished, however, and he could not locate it in any of the downstairs rooms of the house.

_If it had left the house, it would be long gone by now. _

He instead chose to go back to the room, to the scene of the crime as it were. Especially because he did not have an Amelia Pond following him as he expected.

Amy was still in the room, but she was transfixed by the mirror.

The Doctor looked to see what she was transfixed by.

The mass of red hair was unmistakeable but the uncharacteristic grin that glimmered from beneath contorted the face and made it almost inhuman. A knife glinted provocatively in the brandished hand, beckoning the victim in wards.

So in she went...


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

It was if the mirror had suddenly gained the consistency of a silvery jelly. It engulfed Amy's frame as she walked straight through it. The Doctor darted forward, shouting her name. He tried to grab her arm. He managed to clutch onto her fingertips just in tip before they disappeared into the mirror. He tried to pull her back to him but it was if she was stuck fast, like glue. He tried to maintain his grip and pull her out but there was something much more powerful, stronger pulling her in on the other side.

"Amy, hold on!" he wasn't sure if she could hear him.

She was slipping. He couldn't hold on to her any longer. The force of the pull coming from the mirror was far too strong. He had to let go.

Her fingertips disappeared into the mirror which instantly lost its fluidity and became a sheet of glass once again.

The Doctor banged against it. He tried to get through. It was completely solid now. He pounded his fists against it. He could not see Amy inside, only his reflections staring back at him.

"Amy!"

It was pointless. She was gone.

The Doctor yelled out in frustration. He always _just_ missed them. Nevertheless, he got his sonic screwdriver and tried to find some form of entrance, some portal or gateway. It was pointless. If he had not seen what had just happened he would have thought that this was just a normal mirror. How was it blocking him out? It must have some kind of defence mechanism that selectively chose who was able to enter. And it had specifically chosen to block him out. _But why?_

He had a sudden thought- the open window when they had first entered the room! The night was to bitter to have purposely left the window open. Was this some kind of connection? Was the window a red herring or was the mirror? And what about the red flash which disappeared down the staircase? A distraction or something more? So many questions ran through his mind.

He had another scan of the room. The fuel still remained unnervingly blood-like on the floor. It was definitely alien. There was no doubt about it. But why was it all so concealed, so undetectable. If he could figure out what species or what planet it came from it would make the whole guessing game overs its purpose and its need for both Emma and Amy so much more easier.

He got a vial and pipette out of his jacket pocket, _handy to have, _and sucked up and stored some of the fuel. He would take it onto the TARDIS for further analysis when he had time, but who knows what danger Amy was in. He needed to find a way to get to her.

Suddenly a voice behind him startled him, "Who's there?!"


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

The Doctor swung around. Emma's mum was stood at the door, holding a baseball bat.

The Doctor leapt up, "it's okay, you're not in any danger." He held his hands out to show he was weaponless, not feeling too keen on being whacked with the bat that she was clutching in her hands.

Emma's mum lowered the bat slowly. She didn't look worried. In fact, her face was eerily calm and oddly pale. Her eyes wide and staring, shining as though they were glossed over. She tilted her head slightly at the Doctor, before transforming…

She blinked and her eyelids flitted over, revealing diluted pupils so much so that her entire eye seemed to shine with blackness. Her skin appeared to morph as it became even paler. It was becoming a pasty white colour, with a sheen of sweat over it, or else some kind of glistening fluid. The scariest thing was her mouth, it widened and her teeth grew, sharpened to points which clustered within the expanding mouth, looking sharp and deadly. She had become crouched and animalistic looking as the rest of her body convulsed and changed.

The Doctor initially stared in horror before letting out a yelp. The 'creature' that was once Emma's mum was fully transformed now and was eyeing him up unnervingly. She continued to tilt her head at him, her inhuman nose sniffing the air profusely.

She was blocking the exit. There was no way to get around her and she was beginning to advance towards him!

The Doctor looked frantically around him. The monster knew he was trapped. It grinned, exposing its many sharp, dagger-like teeth at him.

There was only one way to go, really. The Doctor backed up against the open window and clambered onto the ledge. The creature tilted its head at him yet again, but continued to advance. The Doctor looked down at the garden below. It was too far to jump without hurting himself. He noticed the drainpipe not too far from the window. He swung himself towards the drainpipe and gripped onto it as hard as he could, cautiously lowing himself down. He heard a growl from the creature as it poked its contorted face out of the window and stared demonically down at him.

"Aha!" he said, triumphantly as he neared the ground. Narrow escape!

Unfortunately for him the beast wasn't done with him. There was a scurry amongst the shadows of the hedges in the garden and the creature emerged.

The Doctor was confused. How had it beaten him down? He was literally looking up at it a moment ago.

It stood facing him for a moment, tilted its head once more, before turning and running out of the garden and down the street.

_But why would it run?_

The Doctor, automatically, took chase after it.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

The creature was too quick for him. It wildly scurried ahead, so fast that the only way he knew he was going in the right direction was the blur of a body whizzing around the corners ahead of him. His feet pounded against the uneven cobbled ground, making him stumble and sway, so much so that he almost lost his balance. But he needed to keep chasing it. He wasn't entirely sure why, but he knew that he needed to. He needed to figure out exactly where it was going so that he could save Amy.

But slowly, he seemed to be falling behind, until he realised he wasn't chasing anything anymore. The creature had out-ran him. He started to slow down, breathing heavily, both hearts beating rapidly. He was getting old. He tried to compose himself and decide what his next move would be when he heard a piercing scream fill the air. It seemed to be coming from a house a few up from where he had decided to stop.

It took him a second to realise that it was Amy's house. The scream! It must have been young Amy!

He leapt over the garden gate, towards the house. The front door was open and he ran inside. After the shrill echo of the scream the place felt oddly still.

"Amy!" he shouted, scanning each room desperately. He'd already lost one Amy today, he did not intend on losing another. It seemed he was too late. He ran upstairs, and burst into Amy's room. She wasn't there. He flung himself down onto her bed and held his head in frustration. He had failed her yet again.

He took a second to gather himself together and observe his surroundings. Young Amy's room was pink and cluttered, full of a manner of childish and girly things. A typical young girl's room. He glanced at her prized possessions placed proudly upon a chest of drawers. His unintentional impact upon her was clear, and it struck some guilt within him. Especially as he had now let her down yet again. She had dolls, but not normal rosy-cheeked, curly-haired dolls, but self-made dolls that resembled him, his floppy hair and his clothing. She had even made a small tardis, painted blue. There were many drawings as well, of him, of his blue box, of Amy exploring that stars.

All that he had promised her.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

The Doctor attempted to compose himself, to gather his thoughts, but the painful silence of Amy's house was excruciating. It was always so quiet here. In fact, every time he had come to Amy's home no one else had been inside. Only Amy. With all his other companions he had met their mothers, grandfathers, siblings but he had never even glimpsed sight of Amy's guardians … strange. And to make matters even stranger these creatures, who were clearly not native to Earth, were so wrapped up and concerned with the spheres of Amy's house, Amy, and her close friend Emma. It was all too much to be coincidental. He began to absentmindedly circle Amy's room as he was thinking, letting his hand brush against various objects in his room, as if seeking inspiration from them. He paused at her dressing table which had a small oval mirror on top of it, something caught his eye. Written on the mirror in what the Doctor terrifyingly thought was blood to begin with but eventually realised it was from a mushed up lipstick that Amy had been playing grown-ups with, were the words _Look in the Box. _

_The Box? _

The Doctor looked around him. He couldn't see a box anywhere. He returned back to the message on the mirror in frustration, moving the stool sat beneath the dressing table to sit down once again. As he was about to sit down, he noticed something on the seat. It was little brown box that Amy must have decorated with glitter and glue, forming the words _Pandora's Box _across the lid. It had a tiny golden latch that the Doctor was hesitant to open to begin with. Anything with the name _Pandora's Box _was a bit of a deterrent for opening it. But he couldn't resist and quickly flicked the latch open. Inside were a number of crayoned drawings and some photographs.

The Doctor began to look through them. One was a picture of two young girls outside in the sunshine. Underneath each wobbly- drawn figure was a name. The one with the red scribbly mass of hair was tagged as Amy and the other had the scrawl of Emma written beneath it. There were many other drawings which were similar. Some showed three children playing, a young boy with blonde hair and round glasses was the added member to these pictures. He did not have a name scrawled beneath him. Instead, Amy had simply put _Emma's Brother. _She had even drawn some family scenarios; a family dinner scene, Emma's mum, Emma, Emma's brother and herself were the ones sat around the table, enjoying dinner. A scene, the Doctor presumed, Amy felt she could get from Emma's household. Something he had never seen or heard her talk about within her own home. The Doctor then moved onto the photographs. There was a picture of Young Amy sat at a table with a birthday cake in front of her, an empty chair beside her, a big grin on her face and arm around the chair. The Doctor flipped the photograph over and written on the back was _Me and Emma at my Birthday party. _He flicked the photo back over, wondering if he missed anything, no the chair was definitely still empty. Every photo was the same. Moments captured that Young Amy claimed to be both her and Emma, or else Emma's brother or Emma's mother in the picture alongside her, but always it would just be Young Amy alone and no one beside her.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

The Doctor's mind was ticking away.

_Curiouser and Curiouser. _

He couldn't figure out whether this was a trap, or who they were or what they wanted. He was for once, rather, nonplussed.

The Doctor began to talk into the small circular mirror with the writing scrawled upon, unsure as to whether they could hear him or not, "Who are you? What are you trying to tell me?" It was just his own reflection that stared back at him.

The Doctor, frustrated by the lack of response, flounced out of the bedroom, searching for a clue or anything which could lead him onto some sort of plan or action which might bring him closer to saving Amy.

He was just about to scurry down the stairs, when something shimmering caught the corner of his eye.

He whirled around to face a tall mirror at the top of the stairs. Part of him was really sure that it wasn't there before. But then again…was it?

Initially, he dismissed it as another dead end, but as he stared at himself, he noticed a short figure step out from behind his legs, but only in the reflection facing him. He felt the air around himself to double check, to make sure there wasn't any invisible creature who could only be seen within the reflection, but there was nothing- just empty space. Yet the figure staring back at him from the mirror looked so solid and real. It was young Amy again. She stood in front of the Doctor in his reflection, but stared at him. Her eyes large and innocent, her pale face youthful and full of freckles, her red hair untamed- the exact image of the Young Amy he had left waiting in her back garden, eagerly perched upon her suitcase, agonisingly waiting for her 'raggedy man's' return.

Even though the Doctor knew that this was just a copy of the Amy he knew, he was relieved to find that she didn't look vicious or threatening. She just stared at him, a small innocent smile forming upon her lips. Her hands were held behind her back, concealing something. The Doctor became very curious as to what it was. She seemed to understand this curiosity and responded to it, slowly revealing what she had concealed. It was shiny, long and pointed. _The Knife. _

The Doctor knew he should feel horror at this, as the young girl brandished the weapon in front of him, but, instead he felt a wave of calmness wash over him.

As young Amy waved the knife from side to side the Doctor was transfixed. He watched the shiny metal shimmer, as the light of the hallway flickered and danced over it. It was oddly mystifying and strangely beautiful as it beckoned him to move closer.

His eyes followed the motion of the blade and before he knew it his nose was pressed against the cold surface of the mirror. The surface remained hard for a moment, but then it became syrup-like, a wobbling silver liquid which engulfed his nose and then began to engulf the rest of him as it absorbed him.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18 **

The Doctor was in a metallic room that looked like a cross between a spaceship and a surgery. It was grim but definitely alien. The Doctors eyes shot to a horizontal figure, lying sprawled on a metal table. The distinct red hair alerted in him that it was Amy and his trance instantly faded as he rushed to her side, trying to wake her up from her unconscious state.

She didn't respond, didn't even groan as he shook her gently. But he could see her breathing, her chest rising and falling as though she was merely in a deep sleep.

The Doctor was so concerned with Amy that he didn't even notice a figure appear from the sliding doors to the left of him.

The creature was tall, not in a threatening way, but lean and elegant, and it approached so soundlessly that it was only meters away from the Doctor when it stopped and stared at the Doctor, unblinkingly, causing the Doctor to feel its gaze and finally look up. Large, black, diluted pupils faced him, the same ones he faced only moments ago as Emma's mum transformed. The whole eye seemed to shine with blackness, even more than he had noticed before, but these eyes didn't have a swallowing endless quality to them. The creature before had eyes like an endless tunnel, one the Doctor could fall in and never get back out of, yet the eyes that studied him here did not threaten to do this. Instead, they had a warmness to them and a sparkling shine.

The creature blinked and sniffed a lot, like a small, nervous animal despite its height. Its complexion was also not as pale and sweaty as it looked in Emma's room. It was a much warmer colour, verging on the colour of flesh although there was still an unearthliness about it. Although its jagged teeth still pointed out from the wide mouth, the whole expression was more subdued, making the creature seem less intimidating and deadly, as though it was more human than animal. It radiated an aura of intelligence. It stared at him blankly, its black eyes blinking slowly as though it was trying to express something to him but couldn't quite.

He stared back, patiently. He felt no cause to run. Besides, he couldn't leave Amy. Not again.

The creature was inches away from him now but still he stood his ground. His hand did not even reach for the comfort of his sonic screwdriver.

All of a sudden, the creature widened a claw and placed it firmly upon his head.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19 **

As the creature clutched his foreheard, a static- sound filled the Doctor's ears. It dimmed until a clear echo-y voice could be heard, it faded in and out as it spoke.

"_Although we should be familiar and be known to you, we are entirely different. We should never cross paths. We cannot survive in the life you live in. We cannot survive in your world or any of the other worlds you visit. We have tried to get in touch with you for a very long time. We have a message for you that is very important. We had to find a way to reach you but we hit many barriers in our way to doing so. When we break through into your dimension it transforms and hurts us. We lose ourselves. We lose focus. We end up in so much pain we cannot control ourselves. We bleed and leak."_

The Doctor thought of the strange substance which lay next to the mirror. He had assumed it was some kind of fuel.

"_The only chance we had was to manipulate your world through the reflective portals we finally discovered. We created holograms, mirages and manipulated minds. We decided that we needed to create a scenario to gain your attention. We used the companion you called Amy. It was our best chance. We created a thought, an image, of a child friend, of an influential character in her life as well as a traumatic experience she would remember, to bring you here. We also created an instrument to aid you into our dimension and keep you in a state where you are protected and safe for as long as we can."_

The Doctor guessed that this instrument was the metal 'knife'.

"_Now that you understand what has been going on, please forgive us for using your dear companion. We are sorry for this but our message is much more important. Heed our warning- beware of the box- remember that sometimes it may be equally as fearful what can be put inside as what can get out. Also, old friends may not always be good ones. This is all we are allowed to tell you by our laws, but please heed our warning- beware of the box!" _


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

The creature's clamped hand released the Doctor, causing the Doctor to tumble backwards slightly. He felt faint and dizzy. He couldn't comprehend or work through the information that had just been given to him as well as he should be able to as his head was feeling fuzzy and his vision blurry. His eyes focused upon Amy, she was sweating and breathing rapidly. He could hear her murmuring in her sleep.

The Doctor was in immense pain, sweating profusely, just like Amy. It was as though the room had suddenly risen sharply in temperature. He found himself crouching on the floor, holding onto the table, the creature nowhere in sight. It felt as though his very bones were aching. He thought he could hear them crunching as though they were expanding, shrinking…transforming. His eyes were watering and he felt sharp shooting pains run through him. It was unbearable. He felt one of his heart beats drop dangerously low. It may have even stopped altogether.

The Doctor could only assume that the device which was supposed to subdue and protect him within this realm had stopped working. Whether this was on purpose or not the Doctor could not tell. Perhaps, it had all been an elaborate trap and he was finally meeting his end.

He could no longer hold himself up, even with the support of the table. He fell to the floor and everything went black..


End file.
